The USF Bulls are back.
If Thursday night was any kind of preview of the kind of football we will see this season, it is going to be a fun season in Tampa.
Consider that this was the first time since 2016 that USF defeated a ranked opponent. The 34-7 win over No. 25 Boise State did not surprise coach Alex Golesh. “In our team meeting, I told our players we’d be up in the fourth quarter. Now, could we reset and finish?”
The Bulls won on the strength of their defensive intensity, being plus three in the takeaway game, and living out the “Fourth and Inches” philosophy, which USF has ingrained in its players since spring practice. The Bulls held Boise State to 2-of-6 on fourth down conversions. Combined with the four turnovers and stopping Boise State on fourth down, that is an additional seven possessions.
Quarterback Byrum Brown had high praise for the defense. “Lights-out defense. Love them boys.” The Bulls also won the battle at the lines of scrimmage offensively and defensively.
USF also executed a fake punt, which turned into a 45-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Locklan Hewlett to Keshaun Singleton. Talking about the fake punt, Golesh said, “That was a week one kind of thing. Nobody knew who No. 13 (Hewlett) was. I’m not sure we can do it again next week. But we had the perfect situation, the right part of the field.”
Hewlett said, “It was set up perfectly. When I got out there and saw the way they lined up, I knew it could work. I absolutely did not expect my first pass attempt at USF to be out of punt formation, but it was great to make it work.”
Golesh also talked about the preparation on the defensive side of the ball.
“I thought our focus, our intent, our attention to detail was really, really good. To be honest with you, this handling the success part is something we haven’t done a great job with. Winners act a certain way. Elite football teams act a certain way.”
“I thought our focus, our intent, our attention to detail was really, really good,” Golesh said. “To be honest with you, this handling the success part is something we haven’t done a great job with. Winners act a certain way. Elite football teams act a certain way.”
The Bulls’ win on Thursday night threw the College Football Playoffs into chaos, as Boise was the favorite to make the playoffs again. The Broncos are now a long shot to repeat as the group of six College Football Playoff representatives, as they were the only ranked team outside a Power Four Conference.
The Bulls are waiting to step in and fill those shoes, but first, they will need more dominating performances from the defense and to get the offense humming on all cylinders. There is a long way to go and a long season ahead.
“Celebrate the win. Separate the positive from the negative. Then put this behind us, turn the page, keep moving. If you celebrate this more than 12 hours, you’re going to jack the next one up at Florida, and the next one is really big, too.”
The Bulls will stay in-state and travel to Gainesville to face the Gators on Saturday, September 6th.
With another dominating performance against Florida, USF might be one of the teams outside the Power Four Conferences as a favorite for the College Football Playoffs.